Real Mom Nutrition

Why Are We Afraid Of Telling Parents What To Do?

April 13, 2013

Lately I’ve gotten a lot of success stories from parents who have joined the ranks of “That Mom”. They’ve spoken up and changed the snack culture in their child’s class or sports team (read “Change the Snack Culture: 3 Steps to Take Now” and ”Be Bold. Take Action. Make Change.“). But occasionally, I hear from [...]

Read the full article →

Change The Snack Culture: 3 Steps to Take Now

April 4, 2013

Two years ago, I had a “light bulb moment” about snacking when I saw a mom and her child on the playground one day (read: “Snacking Insanity“). Since that moment, I’ve become much more aware of the snacks my kids are getting–and what I see isn’t good. It’s a problem, and not just in my [...]

Read the full article →

My Pre-Dinner Snack Strategy

April 1, 2013

There’s nothing more maddening at mealtime than sitting down to a dinner you’ve spent 45 minutes to prepare only to have your kids push aside their plates because they’re already full. On pretzels. Navigating the hour before dinner is tough with children–especially young kids, for whom “dinner will be ready in 10 minutes” sounds more [...]

Read the full article →

Giveaway: My Favorite Green Cleaning Cloths

March 18, 2013

I used to have a collection of bottles and cans under my kitchen sink: sprays to clean the counters, blue stuff to clean the windows, stainless steel paste for the appliances, and a bleach powder for my white sink. That’s all gone. Now I have a stack of cloths. And instead of spraying toxic-smelling cleaners [...]

Read the full article →

Soccer Season is Here. Are You Ready, Snacktivists?

March 15, 2013

Right now, in many communities around the country, kids are trying on cleats and shin guards and parents are busting out camp chairs and coolers from storage. Soccer season is upon us. And so are soccer snacks. If you’re fed up with soccer snacks (or baseball, swimming , or basketball snacks), if you’re done with frosted [...]

Read the full article →

Giveaway: Two New Cookbooks I Love

March 11, 2013

{This giveaway is now closed. Thank you!} I recently received two new cookbooks from fellow dietitians who are as great in person as they are on page–and they’re giving away a copy of their books to one of you. The Food Lover’s Healthy Habits Cookbook by Janet Helm (author of the widely read blog Nutrition [...]

Read the full article →

Why I’m Worried About Chocolate Milk

March 4, 2013

It’s not for the obvious reasons. Though I get passionate about junk at school parties and junk at school breakfasts (read: “I Have No Love for Candy Valentines” and ”The Trouble with School Breakfast“), I haven’t gotten fired up about chocolate milk. I know lots of people disagree–and I totally get why they do. I’d love [...]

Read the full article →

It’s Donna Day

March 1, 2013

I’m proud to join a group of bloggers today to mark Donna Day, a campaign to raise funds to fight pediatric cancer. Donna is the daughter of my friend Sheila (also known as Mary Tyler Mom). Donna died in 2009 after 31 months of treatment for an aggressive brain tumor. During her treatment, Sheila wrote updates for [...]

Read the full article →

We Ate Junk Food And Turned Out Just Fine…Right?

February 25, 2013

When I talk to people about soccer snacks or class parties or more recently, candy Valentines (read: “I Have No Love for Candy Valentines“), the discussion invariably turns to how how things were when we were kids: “But we had class parties, ate candy, and washed down birthday cupcakes with cherry Kool-Aid. And we turned [...]

Read the full article →

The Trouble With School Breakfast

February 22, 2013

Seven words I never thought I’d hear my 8-year-old son say: “Mommy, I’m getting sick of Cocoa Puffs.” I don’t buy Cocoa Puffs. My son has been eating them at school as part of the free breakfast program. I am not happy about this. For months, I have wrestled with what to do about school [...]